Latest news with #VolodymyrSaldo
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ukrainian attack causes blackouts in Russian-occupied territories, Moscow's proxies claim
A Ukrainian drone attack targeting energy infrastructure in Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts overnight on June 3 caused widespread blackouts, according to Russian occupation authorities. Yevhen Balytskyi, the Kremlin-appointed head of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, claimed that 457 settlements in the region were left without power, affecting more than 600,000 homes. In neighboring Kherson Oblast, Moscow-installed proxy Volodymyr Saldo claimed that drone debris damaged substations near occupied Henichesk, as well as near Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, resulting in power outages across 150 settlements. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the claims, which could not be independently verified. Kyiv's previous attacks on substations in Russia and Russian-occupied territories were aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to sustain its war effort. Situated in southern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts have been partially occupied since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The regions' centers, the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, remain under Ukrainian control and are frequently targeted by Russian forces. A Russian FPV (first-person-view) drone attack targeted first responders near Vasylivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, injuring at least 12 people, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported. Read also: Russian propagandists split between downplaying devastating Ukrainian attacks and issuing threats We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Volunteers persecuted and deaths concealed – investigation of blowing up of Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant
The Kyiv Independent's war crimes investigations team in its new investigation "When Water Screams" reveals how in June 2023, the occupation authorities on the left bank of Kherson Oblast failed to evacuate civilians after the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was blown up. Source: Kyiv Independent's (Ukrainian media outlet) investigative documentary When the Water Screams Details: The journalists collected about fifty testimonies from eyewitnesses, relatives of those killed and volunteers who were in the occupied territories or took part in the rescue of people on the left bank of Kherson Oblast. Witnesses explained that on the first day after the dam was blown up, there were no evacuation notices from the occupation authorities. Rescue workers from Russian-controlled services appeared in the flooded areas only a few days later. The evacuation was carried out by local residents who coordinated rescue efforts via Telegram messenger chats. However, the Russian military restricted their access to the flooded areas, took away boats and threatened and harassed volunteers. Journalists registered one case where a man who helped with the evacuation of civilians went missing. On the orders of Volodymyr Saldo, the Russia-appointed puppet governor of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, the disaster response was overseen by Andrei Alekseyenko, a former mayor of the Russian city of Krasnodar who headed the occupation administration in Kharkiv Oblast in 2022. After Kharkiv Oblast was liberated by Ukraine's Armed Forces, he was reassigned to Kherson Oblast and personally escorted Russian officials to the flooded areas. At the time of the disaster, the local emergency service was led by Ivan Pavlenko, a major general in Russia's internal service with experience in handling emergencies within Russia. He was also in charge of the regional emergency response system, which is intended to manage crises like the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Journalists analysed documents on how these emergency systems operated in 2023 in Russia and its occupied territories, including the resources allocated for disaster response. Their findings show that in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, there were eight times fewer rescue workers and 18 times less specialised equipment than in Russia's Ivanovo Oblast, which is similar in terms of land area. Investigators report that the occupation authorities systematically downplayed the number of casualties. A year after the dam was blown up, Volodymyr Saldo officially reported only 60 deaths. However, eyewitnesses and volunteers estimate the actual number of victims could be in the hundreds. Journalists have gathered evidence showing that occupation officials attempted to conceal the true scale of civilian losses. Medical staff at the health centre in Oleshky, after issuing just six death certificates, were forbidden from preparing any more such documents. The bodies of the dead were then removed from hospital premises. The families of those killed were often not informed of burial locations. Eyewitnesses claim that drowned individuals were buried or transported to at least five temporarily occupied settlements of Kherson Oblast: Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Skadovsk, Henichesk and Kalanchak. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia seized boats, harassed volunteers, concealed gravesites ― Kakhovka Dam explosion investigation
Russian-controlled forces in Kherson Oblast have deliberately made it harder for civilians to evacuate the flood zone following the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023. According to an investigation by the Kyiv Independent, the Russian military interfered with the work of locals who were evacuating people from the flooded areas on their own — their boats were confiscated, while the volunteers were threatened and forced to stop the efforts. In turn, the local rescue services, working under occupation, did not have enough resources for the evacuation, while the occupation authorities deliberately concealed the magnitude of the disaster. As a result of these actions, civilians on the occupied east bank of Kherson Oblast that could have been rescued have died. The Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigation Unit recorded fifty testimonies from eyewitnesses, relatives of eyewitnesses, and volunteers who stayed in the occupied territories during the flooding following the Kakhovka Dam explosion and were involved in rescuing people. Read also: As 'negotiations' weigh Ukraine's land, the lives lost under Russian occupation are forgotten The testimonies laid the basis for the Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary, When the Water Screams, which premiered on Feb. 27. Following the explosion, the water from the Kakhovka Reservoir began to flood settlements located downstream. On the Ukrainian-controlled part of Kherson Oblast, an immediate evacuation took place, including from the regional capital of Kherson, which saw several neighborhoods being flooded. The Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River, however, had been hit the hardest. The witnesses told the Kyiv Independent that they didn't hear announcements about an evacuation. Boats carrying rescuers from the Russian-controlled emergency services did not appear until several days after the explosion. The evacuation of civilians fell on the shoulders of the locals, who organized and coordinated the rescue themselves, in particular, via a Telegram chat. Yet, Russian soldiers did not allow volunteers to enter all the flooded areas, and confiscated their boats under threat of punishment. The Kyiv Independent identified a man from the east bank involved in the rescue operation, who went missing. Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, put Andrey Alekseenko, the so-called head of the government of the occupied eastern bank, in charge of the emergency response. Alekseenko is the former mayor of Krasnodar, a Russian city. At the time of the explosion, the local rescue service was headed by Ivan Pavlienko — a Russian Major General. Pavlienko, who had vast experience in dealing with emergency situations in Russia, was in charge of the utility services set to deal with the flooding. However, the resources Russia allocated to combat the disaster were inadequate. In Russia's Ivanovo Oblast, which is almost the same size as the occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, there were eight times more personnel and 18 times more "special equipment." A year after the Kakhovka Dam explosion, Russian-controlled official Saldo reported that over 60 people died due to the flooding. According to eyewitnesses and volunteers involved in the evacuation, hundreds of people may have died on the occupied eastern bank of Kherson Oblast, and the authorities attempted to conceal the extent of civilian casualties. When the waters rose, doctors at the Oleshky Polyclinic managed to issue six death certificates, after which they were forbidden from issuing such documents. The bodies of the dead were then taken away. The Kyiv Independent recorded five cases in which the relatives of the victims were not informed about the fate of their deceased, and their burial place remains unknown. Read also: Deer and boar could roam forests in the Kakhovka reservoir in 5 years, head of national reserve says We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
